A Testimony of the Prophet

By Elder Cecil O. Samuelson Jr.

Of the Seventy

“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken … ; whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same” (D&C 1:38).

Right after I was baptized and confirmed, my grandmother said, “You have the Holy Ghost now, and it’s important that you have a testimony of the prophet.” Soon I went to general conference for the first time—the October conference of 1949.

It was quite an adventure. I slept over at my grandparents’ house. I remember getting up very early on Saturday morning and riding the bus to downtown Salt Lake City with my grandmother. We walked over to Temple Square and stood in a line for a long, long time. When we got to the Tabernacle, we sat in the back corner.

Just before the meeting started, there was a hush and everybody stood up. Then President George Albert Smith (1870–1951) walked in. I could see President Smith and his counselors. I’ve never forgotten how I felt when I first saw the prophet. I felt something very, very special. I knew he was the Lord’s prophet.

That was a very important event. I feel the same way when I see the President of the Church now. I have served as a General Authority now with three Presidents of the Church. And when the President walks in, I still have that testimony: “He’s the prophet.”

You are not too young to have a testimony that the President of the Church is the Lord’s prophet. If you get that testimony when you are young, it will be a sustaining influence in your life. You can know that the Lord does have a prophet and that we are blessed when we listen carefully to what he teaches.

Illustration by Dan Burr